The brakes worked ok when I started driving the car a year ago. However before that it was not driven regularly. The few times it was driven were short and slow runs. They had gone out before so I believe the hydraulics have been rebuilt twice recently the last was in December 2014.

The brakes work but they don't hold. When you sit on a hill you have to hold the ebrake because the pedal will sink. When going down a hill you have to severe brake to shake off your speed, lift the pedal, then carefully brake to a stop. It's quite a task to judge the distance and pedal throw without locking the pedal to the toeboard. When it's hilly I have to take off the overdrive so I can engine brake.

I want to get the new Kanter BTV kit with the new diaphragm. A retiring restorer said the diaphragm or cylinder could be leaking. We spent a lot to get the hydraulics rebuilt in December too but the shop doesn't know what's wrong with it now.

Ok. I will start there.

I'm tying to figure out why the brake pedal gets mushy in the '52 300. It only happens when the engine is good and hot and I've been driving for 20 or 30 minutes. When I try to stop it usually goes to the floor and locks on the toeboard, if not it requires a careful touch. Also when on an incline the pedal slowly creeps down.

All the wheel cylinders and master have been rebuilt. The master was also rebuilt 6 years ago along with the treadle vac. I've read about the compensator valve and diagpragm or cylinder wall air leaks. The mechanic says it's all working as expected and the fluid is full and clean so I had few clues. I figured rebuild the treadle vac again and reline the shoes. Then it occurred to me that the heat of the brakes and the heat of the engine are overheating the fluid. I'm thinking about switching the brake fluid to ATE Super Blue racing fluid and making a heat shield for the master. Any thoughts on how effective that may be?

-John

I was able to tighten the two upper steering gear bolts a half turn or so. The column/shift tree clamp u-bolt neither tightens nor loosens so it must be stripped. The column shroud doesn't shake even on the worst bumps. I'm thinking its primarily the uppermost bearing. I will pull the wheel sometime and see.

Thank you. I will take a look tomorrow and see if I can find all these.

I'm rebuilding the front end on a '52 300 stick shift. The column moves and shakes and makes noise when going over bumps and turning. Any ideas on what parts are needed to refurbish it? Thanks

I think it was low on coolant. I topped it off and haven't heard the noise since. Is this like the full gas tank whistle on the 23rd series?

Yeah a shop rebuilt the master and wheel cylinders and still looses the pedal sometimes. I use direct gear in town which helps slow the car. When going down a hill I sometimes have to put a foot on either side of the pedal and pump back and forth. It's severe but she stops. The brakes are actually more reliable with the engine off an no power assist.

My friends say it's the treadle vac and to get the deluxe rebuild kit with the diaphragm.

Sometimes when I'm slowing to a stop or stopped altogether the car makes a horn-like moaning noise coming from the front. It's slow and steadily gets noisier. I beeped the horns when it was happening once and confirmed it's not that. Yesterday I parked the car, removed the key, and as I walked away from her she made the the noise for a few seconds. That threw out my idea of an idler pulley and the intake. FYI she's got power brakes and I think its time for a new diaphragm - the pedal goes to the floor when it's hot. Could this be a strange vacuum noise?

Also thank you to everyone for your help.

Also how do I contact Jason? Can he rebuild a good core?